Monday, December 13, 20107:30 p.m. (PST) - Los Angeles, Calif.Pauley Pavilion (12,819)PRIME TICKET (Fox Sports)KFSG (1690 AM)OPENING TIPS- UC Davis cruised to an 80-53 win over Notre Dame de Namur in their last contest. The win marked the second victory over a non D-1 opponent this season for the Aggies. It is also the last non D-1 opponent on this season’s schedule. - The Aggies set a new program record for three point field goals made in regulation, by connecting on 15 triples. - Eddie Miller had a game high 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting with a 3 of 6 mark from behind the arc. Tyler Les helped to break the record, scoring a career high 12 points off the bench, hitting on 4 of 5 three point attempts. - UC Davis has won 4 out of their last 6 games, with losses coming at California and home vs. Boise State. - UC Davis has a 9 day break in between games, due to final exams this week. - The Aggies lost by just 12 vs. another Pac-10 opponent in Cal, after five ties and four lead changes in the first half. - UCLA has lost their last four games, with Cal Poly on the schedule prior to the facing UC Davis. - In a controversial finish, UCLA nearly upset No. 4 Kansas, but ultimately fell 77-76. The game was nationally televised as part of the Pac-10/Big 12 Hardwood Series and was played at Allen Fieldhouse. - The Bruins have four players averaging double figures in points, led by Tyler Honeycutt, who is averaging 16.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. - UCLA is no stranger to Big West opponents. The Bruins play five teams from the Big West this season, having already defeated Cal State Northridge (83-50) and Pacific (57-44). After playing Cal Poly this weekend and UC Davis on Monday, UCLA will face off with IC Irvine on Dec. 23. ALL-TIME SERIES Monday’s game will mark the 3rd overall meeting between UC Davis and UCLA with the Bruins holding a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams last met in the 2007-08 season, when UCLA took a 76-48 win. When the Aggies last went up against the Bruins, they had multiple NBA players on the roster, including Kevin Love, Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook. UCLA finished with a school record 35 wins that season, after losing to Memphis in the Final Four.

HEAD COACHES Gary Stewart is in his 18th year as a head coach and his 8th season with the Aggies. He currently owns a 224-252 overall record and a 82-133 mark on the sidelines with UC Davis. Stewart was with the Aggies during all four years of the transition to Division I and is set to lead the program into their fourth year as a D1 member.

Ben Howland holds a 166-72 record in seven plus seasons with UCLA and a 334-171 overall record as a head coach. Entering his eighth year as the Bruins’ head coach in 2010-11, Ben Howland became the first UCLA coach since the late Coach John R. Wooden to win three straight Pac-10 Conference championships (2006-08) and is the only other UCLA coach other than Wooden to earn three straight Final Four appearances (2006-08). Also in 2008, Howland became one of just three coaches in NCAA Division I history to win at least 30 games in three consecutive seasons, joining Adolph Rupp (Kentucky 1947-49) and John Calipari (Memphis 2006-08).

UCLA SCOUTING REPORTThe Bruins hold a 3-4 overall record, prior to playing Cal Poly on Dec. 11. UCLA started the season with five straight wins, winning by an average of 31 points in their first three games. After going from Big West to Big East and Big 12 opponents, the Bruins have lost four straight. UCLA lost all three of their games on the road, before returning home to lose their first game at Pauley Pavilion vs. Montana. The 66-57 loss to the Grizzlies was the most recent game for the Bruins. MEDIA COVERAGE Saturday’s contest will air on KFSG (1690 AM) with Scott Marsh on the call. The broadcast will be simulcast on ucdavisaggies.com through Game Central by Stretch Internet. The game will also be streamed live and available to watch at uclabruins.com. Live stat are available via ucdavisaggies. This is the first of four TV games for the Aggies. The game will air on Prime Ticket with a tip time set for 7:30 p.m. PT. Prime Ticket is available on DirecTV (Channel 694) and Dish Network (Channel 411). Check your local listings for cable chanels.

LAST TIME OUT The Aggies recorded their biggest win of the season vs. Notre Dame de Namur, cruising to an 80-53 victory, while improving to 4-5 on the young season. UC Davis set a new program record for three point field goals made in regulation, by connecting on 15 triples vs. the Argonauts. The Aggies also broke the previous team season high of nine three point field goals by halftime, after shooting 10 for 18 from behind the arc in the opening period. After trailing 46-20 at the break, the Argonauts looked to make a game out of it, cutting the deficit to 13 after a 17-4 run to start the second half. The Aggies responded with a 20-2 run of their own, effectively putting the game out of reach with a 70-39 score and 7:16 remaining in the game. UC Davis led by 20 plus points for the remainder of the game en route to the win. All nine active players for the Aggies reached the scoring column, led by Eddie Miller, who had a game high 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting. Joe Harden also reached double figures with 12 points, while Tyler Les scored 12 points off the bench after 4 of 5 shooting from three.

ON TOP OF ASSISTS UC Davis had a season high 20 assists in their win vs. Notre Dame de Namur, while also recording a season low 10 turnovers. In the Week 5 Big West Conference Report, the Aggies climbed to the top of the leaderboard in team assists, with 15.1 per game. The next closest league foe is Long Beach State, with 14.1 game. Senior Mark Payne is a big reason why UC Davis is finding ways to effectively share the ball. Payne moved into sole possesion of second place for career assists at UC Davis after the win vs. the Argonauts, with a total of 383 assists.

LES IS MORE Freshman Tyler Les sparked an onslaught of threes vs. Notre Dame de Namur, coming off the bench to hit a team best four triples, while UC Davis hit 15 from long range for the game. The 15 three point field goals set a new program record for threes made in regulation, surpassing the previous mark of 14. Eddie Miller and Ryan Sypkens also had three threes apiece, while the Aggies shot 15-30 as a team.

HARDEN’S SCORING HEIGHTS Senior Joe Harden has lived up to his preseason All-Conference selection, leading the Aggies in scoring and rebounding this season. Harden scored his 1000th career point vs. Seattle, followed by a career high 27 points in the next game vs. California. Even more impressive is that he has reached the 1000 point milestone in just three seasons with UC Davis, after transferring from Notre Dame. Harden is one of just five Aggies in history to reach 1000 career points in three seasons. He is currently on pace to be the all-time leading scorer among three year players. John Frost (1965-68) leads the group with 1,346 career points.

SHOTS FROM THE HEART Head coach Gary Stewart and assistant coach Kevin Nosek are participating in collegeinsider.com’s “Shots From the Heart.” The objective of Shots From the Heart is to help create more awareness for the growing problem of Heart Disease and to raise money to benefit the American Heart Association during the 2010-11 season. The event will also play tribute to the late Skip Prosser who passed away on July 26, 2007 of a heart attack. To do this, college basketball coaches have been competing against one another in a free throw shooting tournament. The tournaments started in November with separate brackets for head and assistant coaches and the winners advancing to the next round.

Both coaches for the Aggies advanced in the first round and will play their second round matchup sometime from Dec. 16 - Dec. 31. Coach Stewart downed John Beilein from Michigan in the first round, 27-25, while coach Nosek took a win over Kurtis Townsend of Kansas, 29-24. The second round matchup pairs coach Stewart vs. Mike Londergan of Vermont, while coach Nosek will face off with Alvin Brooks III of Sam Houston State.

CHECK THAT... (PART II) Another stat correction this season ended up providing another noteworthy accomplishment. In the Nov. 27 game vs. Seattle, freshman Mike Kurtz was originally credited with four blocks. It was later revealed that Kurtz should have had five blocks. The five blocks for Kurtz ties a single game UC Davis record. Kurts now shares the record with Jason Cox (vs. St. Rose (N.Y.), 3/19/98) and Randy DeBortoli (vs. Cal State Hayward, 2/6/88).

LOWENTHAL IN THE NCAA RANKS With the first NCAA statistical rankings posted on Monday, Nov. 29th, Todd Lowenthal was the only player for the Aggies that received an individual ranking in the top 100. At the time, Lowenthal led the team in assists and steals and was among the nation’s best with 2.3 steals per game (57th) and a 2.36 assist to turnover ratio (85th). The next highest ranking for UC Davis was Mark Payne, who was shooting 82.2 percent from the free-throw line (182nd). As a team, the Aggies were ranked 93rd in free-throw percentage, shooting 71.1 percent.

Q&A WITH STEWART AND PAYNE In the Nov. 29, 2010 issue of ESPN the Magazine, there is an article on page 64 about “hybrid players.” Senior guard Mark Payne (6-8, 215 lbs.) was originally interviewed to be included in the article, with head coach Gary Stewart also commenting on Payne’s status as a hybrid player. The Payne section was eventually left out of the final article, but the Q&A session with Payne and Stewart is available online to read. Visit ucdavisaggies.com and check out the “around the web” section to access a link to the conversations.

UC RIVERSIDE HOME GAME TO BE TELEVISED UC Davis has picked up a televised game this season at home vs. UC Riverside on January 27th, with a tip time set for 7 p.m. The recently added game will air on Comcast California. The Aggies play in four televised games this season, but the Jan. 27th tilt will be the only home contest televised for UC Davis.

CAUSEWAY CUP CONTINUES UC Davis jumped ahead in the Causeway Cup standings after a dramatic 17-16 win in the football Causeway Classic on Saturday, Nov. 20. The Causeway Cup awards points to either UC Davis or Sacramento State. Each of the schools’ 18 common teams usually compete against each other at least once during the year. The winner is given the pre-determined amount of points of either five or 10. If the two schools meet just once in a season, then all the points will go to the winning team. But if the teams play each other two times or more, the points are divided by how many meetings occur. A men’s basketball win just three days after football gave the Aggies a commanding 37.5 - 15.0 lead in the 2010-11 Causeway Cup standings. The winner of the cup must score more than 50 points out of a possible 100. Last year, UC Davis took a 55.83 - 44.17 victory over Sacramento State.

CHECK THAT... After checking the stats from previous games, an interesting correction has been made to the first game of the season vs. Florida Atlantic. In that game, Mark Payne was originally credited with 13 free throws on 13 attempts. After the error was revealed, Payne was 14 of 14 at the line vs. FAU. Not only did the correction give Payne a 20-10 game, but the 14 free throws made ties a career high for the senior guard.

AGGIES INK JT ADENRELE The UC Davis men’s basketball team announced Wednesday, Nov. 17 that JT Adenrele from Oakmont High School in Roseville, has signed a National Letter of Intent and will join the Aggies next fall. Adenrele, a 6-foot-6 220-pound forward, helped lead Oakmont to an impressive 25-8 overall record during the 2009-10 season. They also finished second place in their division with a 9-3 record and advanced to the section semifinals under head coach Rick Campbell. Adenrele averaged 11.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game at Oakmont as a junior. For his play in the 2009-10 season, he was awarded SFL League Honorable Mention. Adenrele also played AAU during the off season from spring through summer, under coach Ernest Taubodo with the E-Times Hoops Academy.

DOUBLE TROUBLE Joe Harden and Mark Payne have both put together double-doubles this season, with Harden posting two consecutive in the most recent games. Throughout the season, all double-doubles by the Aggies will be monitored on a game-by-game basis.

1000 POINT WATCH Seniors Joe Harden and Mark Payne entered the season just shy of the 1000-point plateau, with each player starting the year with over 900 points. Payne reached the career milestone on Nov. 14 vs. Wisc.-Milwaukee, scoring 17 points in the game and becoming the 17th member of the UC Davis 1000-point club. Harden Scored his 1000th on Nov. 27 vs. Seattle, scoring 16 points in the game. The progress of the overall career standings for both players will be monitored on a game-by-game basis.

NO PAYNE NO GAIN Despite missing eight games due to injury last season, senior guard Mark Payne was the Big West active career leader in three separate categories entering the 2010-11 season, including points (964), assists (352) and steals (149).

In the UC Davis record books, Payne is also in the top ten in career assists and steals and climbing the leader board. His progress will be monitored on a game-by-game basis.

Coach Stewart is hoping that the Aggies will look to improve on that mark again this season.

“The theme is return and advance,” said Stewart. “We want to get to the upper echelon of the conference, return to the conference tournament and advance farther than we did last year. The charge again is to continue to move the program forward, trying to build on some of the successes that we had last year. We feel like if we can remain healthy, we have a golden opportunity to do that.”

COACH Gary Stewart ON TWITTER This season we will keep up with head coach Gary Stewart on Twitter, “retweeting” his latest tweets, starting with the most recent ones.

“I am fired up! Go Ags!”15 Oct

“First day of “official” basketball practice! We are two hours away from taking the floor.........”15 Oct

“Coach Gross is an incredible teacher/coach. Without question, she will continue the long line of outstanding wbb coaches to lead the Ags!”8 Oct

“and.......Congratulations to Jennifer Gross, who was named the Head Women’s Basketball Coach for the 2011-12 season and beyond!”8 Oct

“I am looking forward to seeing him coach one last season at the helm of the Ags!”8 Oct

“On behalf of the entire men’s basketball program at UC Davis, we wish him a retirement filled with joy and great health.”8 Oct

NOTABLE NON-CONFERENCE GAMES Cal and perennial national power UCLA highlight a schedule that features three non-conference teams that reached the 20-win plateau. Pac-10 regular-season champion Cal, which beat Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to eventual national champion Duke in the second, finished 24-11. The Bears will host the Aggies on Dec. 1 at Haas Pavilion as the teams meet for the first time since the 1986-87 season. The Aggies and Bruins will play on Dec. 13 at legendary Pauley Pavilion, facing each other for the second time in the past four seasons. Cal joins Wisc.-Milwaukee (20-14) and Portland (21-11) as 20-game winners on the Aggies’ non-conference schedule.

TELEVISED GAMES UC Davis has a guarantee of three televised games this season, with the possibility of more to come. Currently, the Aggies will make appearances in games vs. UCLA, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. In the Dec. 13 matchup with the Bruins, the game will be televised on Prime Ticket. ESPNU will cover the Long Beach State game on Jan. 12, while the Feb. 2 tilt with UC Santa Barbara will also be on Prime Ticket.

HARDEN’S PRESEASON PLAUDIT Senior guard Joe Harden was named to the Big West Preseason All-Conference Team, voted on by a panel of media members. Harden has been selected to the Big West All-Conference Second Team the past two seasons. Last season, he was also named to the 2010 Big West All Tournament Team and he was named the 2009-10 Best Hustle Player in the Big West. Entering the 2010-11 season, Harden was third in active career leaders in points (908) and rebounds (445).